The containment policy of COVID-19 needs a differential approach in India as the virus spread is high in the population but it is not uniformly affecting all parts of the country, stated the latest updated containment plan for large outbreak area.
According to the document, a large outbreak is defined as a localised increase in COVID-19 cases within a defined geographic area e.g., in a village, town, or city.
So far, the health ministry has denied that country has entered the community transmission phase of coronavirus, but the updated containment strategy has jotted out steps that need to be taken for a large outbreak of the infection in the areas.
"This suggests that while the spread of COVID-19 in our population could be high, it's unlikely that it will be uniformly affecting all parts of the country. This calls for a differential approach to different regions of the country while mounting a strong containment effort in a hotspot," the document read.
The Health ministry in its document mentioned that mathematical modeling studies suggest containment might be possible especially when other public health interventions are combined with an effective social distancing strategy.
In the document, the health ministry has used "H1N1 pandemic influenza" as evidence for implementing geographic quarantine saying that the "current geographic distribution of COVID-19 mimics the distribution of H1N1 pandemic influenza.
It says that the geographic quarantine strategy calls for near-absolute interruption of movement of people who are travelling from or going to a relatively large defined geographic area in which single large outbreak or multiple foci of local transmission of COVID-19 has happened. In simple terms, it is a barrier erected around the focus of infection.
The document also says there is no approved drug or vaccine for the treatment of COVID-19 as of now. Only Chemoprophylaxis with Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) are recommended for healthcare workers and high-risk contacts.
( With inputs from ANI )